 ARTENSION 'NEW DISCOVERY'
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
‘New discovery’ is already the 6th studio album
of the American Progressive Metalband ARTENSION, and
every album is filled with high quality melodic
progressive metal that combines the best of MALMSTEEN,
BALANCE OF POWER and RAINBOW. Also their new CD is a
fantastic record with many highlights. The album contains
10 great songs, and the combination of the melodic
soaring lead vocals of singer John West, the excellent
drumming by Mike Terrana, the classical keyboardwork by
Vitalij Kuprij, the biting guitarwork of Roger
Staffelbach and last but not least, bassist Kevin Chown,
make ARTENSION one of the best US bands from the past 10
years. Back to the new release, I must mention as
highlights the songs “Remember my name” (faster
uptempo melodic Power Metal), “Innocence lost”
(lovely uptempo melodic Prog Metal), “The last
survivor” (another fantastic uptempo Prog Metal
piece), “Hearts are broken” (great midtempo
prog Metal) and the semi-ballad “Endless days”
(also featured in a radio edit version). The conclusion
is simple, every fan of the band and in fact, every
living soul that likes Prog Metal must purchase this
record!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 VARIOUS ARTISTS 'ROCK THE BONES'
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
2003
is a very promising year! This is partly due to this
compilation disc FRONTIERS RECORDS put out. The
compilation CD is a 2-CD set that contains both released
and unreleased songs on the Italian label. The released
songs are from acts like HARDLINE, ERIC MARTIN, HONEYMOON
SUITE, TEN, GIANT, UNRULY CHILD etc. Most of them can be
found on CD 1, but also some on CD 2. However, CD 2
mainly consists of unreleased songs that will be released
on various albums by FRONTIERS. And I must say that there
are some very interesting releases coming up on the best
label at the moment. Let’s discuss the unreleased
songs… ON THE RISE is a new Norwegian band and their
song “Beat of your heart” is high class catchy
80s AOR that reminds me of WORRALL and HAYWIRE (remember
them?). One of the highlights on this disc has got to be
DRIVE SHE SAID with their new song “What’s it
gonna take”, a superb classy AOR/Pomprocker a la
TOUCH/THE SIGN, and maybe their upcoming release
‘Real life’ could become the AOR dream of the
year!
Moving
on with a new TALISMAN song called “Outta my
way”, a nice heavy uptempo melodic HR song but not
as sensational as the band once were (remember
“Dangerous”, “Day by day”, “Just
between us” and “I’ll be waiting”).
Anyway, the new project of Steve Walsh (KYMERA) is also
quite interesting, as their song “Who’s gonna
love you tonight” is a great semi AOR rocker. Long
time no see, but after 20 years TRILLION lead singer Thom
Griffin returns to the scene with a new project called
AMBITION. His voice is crystal clear and the song he
sings is the lovely semi AOR ballad Waiting in my
dreams”, which sounds like a mix between SURVIVOR
and MARK SPIRO. Josh Ramos, the guitarist of THE STORM,
TWO FIRES and HARDLINE, now has his own band called
RAMOS. The band also features former EYES vocalist Mark
Weitz, a man with a fantastic voice, and together they
perform the great AOR ballad “The dream is
alive” (a la ALIAS).
Unexpectedly
I was surprised by a great new Italian band called GREEN,
never heard of them, but their song “I still
love…” is a very impressive melodic prog
rock/metal song with a very catchy haunting chorus that
grabs you right away after hearing it for the first time.
Norwegian guitarist/vocalist Torben Lysholm, who once was
in PUSH, now has a new band called MYSTERELL. Their
featured song “Don’t ever stop” is catchy
pure 80s midtempo AOR in the style of TIM FEEHAN, BRIAN
MCDONALD, MICHAEL MORALES… Another new project is
CRUSH 40, featuring lead singer Johnny Gioeli (HARDLINE,
PELL) and guitarist Jun Senoue (LOUDNESS), with a song
called “Into the wind”, nice uptempo melodic
HR. Long time ago announced, but now we finally can hear
a sneak preview of Michael Sembello’s project HEAVY
WEATHER. The man who scored big-time in the 1980s with
“Maniac” is now moving into pure AOR territory
with the song “Love doesn’t live here
anymore”, a great classy 80s midtempo AOR song a la
STARSHIP’89. Michael not only proves to be an
excellent songwriter, but also his lead vocals are very
impressive, he should have released such AOR stuff 15
years ago, then it would have gained him much success!
Anyway, he will soon release his new CD on FRONTIERS
RECORDS. It’s amazing to see a guy like MICKEY
THOMAS signed to Frontiers, because he was the man behind
STARSHIP, one of the most successful poprockbands in the
US in the 1980s. Anyway, he has a album coming out later
this year, and the featured song on this compilation CD
is the soft AOR ballad “Love can save the day”.
Mickey still has a fantastic voice, belonging to the top
of AOR singers. Let’s hope his CD will also contain
some rockers.
Last
but not least marks the return of Freddy Curci, one of
the best lead singers ever and mainly known for his work
with ALIAS and SHERIFF. However, his new project ZION is
moving into a more Melodic Rock/Hardrock sound (a la
UNRULY CHILD). The featured song “The sky is
falling” is good effective melodic rock, but not as
sensational or anything close to the superb AOR of his
former bands. Well, conclusion is that FRONTIERS RECORDS
will also be the label to watch out for hot new releases
that will probably end up high in the 2003 charts at the
end of the year!
(Points:
- )
CHALLENGE
'SPIRIT'
(SPLASH INTERNATIONAL)
‘Spirit’ is the third album by Californian
female fronted CHALLENGE. It took some time to release
this new CD, but 2003 is the comeback of the band. The CD
contains 10 tracks, and starts very impressive with the
great midtempo AOR song “Spirit”. Unfortunately
the following 4 songs are slightly disappointing, partly
due to the fact the band experiments a bit with Jazzy and
Bluesy elements, and also uses Trumpets and a Sax, which
makes CHALLENGE music now very Pop orientated. Not the
whole CD is like this, because towards the end, we get to
hear 2 fantastic songs again that mark a return to the
classic CHALLENGE sound. These are “Too late”
(great midtempo AOR) and closing track “Turn
away” (lovely AOR with beautiful harmonyvocals).
Furthermore there is also a nice passionate ballad on the
album called “Opening wide”, with some very
emotional beautiful lead vocals by Allison Lindsay.
Although 4 or 5 tracks are quite good, it’s a pity
CHALLENGE has chosen for a more Pop orientated style. I
hope guitarist Arno Verstappen provides some more
electric guitar on a future CD, so CHALLENGE will be a
full rock’n’roll band again. Now it sounds a
bit like SASS JORDAN, ALANNAH MYLES and even JANIS JOPLIN
at times, but still this is a nice record, but not really
rocking if you know what I mean. Check it out at: http://www.officialchallenge.com
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 MARC BRYANT 'NAKED SON'
(INDEPENDENT)
After many demos, American
singer/guitarist/keyboardplayer MARC BRYANT has his first
official CD out. The album is called ‘Naked
son’ and contains high quality melodic hardrock. The
13 featured songs are quite groovy sometimes and not many
of them are uptempo, but nevertheless, each and every
song on the disc also has a catchy melodic chorus and in
the end it’s just a great record! Most of the songs
are in the same style, and come across like the perfect
mix between TALISMAN, HAREM SCAREM, TYKETTO, VELOCITY
(what happened to these guys!) and HARDLINE. My favourite
tracks are “Sacrifice” (midtempo melodic
rocker), “Farewells” (great semi melodic
rock/aor ballad), “Soul searchin” (very good
midtempo melodic rocker) and the catchy uptempo melodic
rocker “Won’t play the fool”. This CD
should be released on one of the melodic rocklabels in
Europe as it is a high quality AOR/Melodic Rock record.
Check it out at: http://www.marc-bryant.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
SPIRITFALL 'WITHOUT WORDS'
(INDEPENDENT)
The Californian band SPIRITFALL sent me a 5-track mini-CD
called ‘Without words’. The album has a good
production, and also contains nice melodic Prog Metal.
Especially the first 2 songs (“What happened to the
first time” and “Will you cry for me”) are
quite nice and even remind me a bit of THRESHOLD, but
don’t take this comparison too serious, because the
songs of SPIRITFALL are quite short and more importantly,
this band is way too modern. I would rather compare
SPIRITFALL to
a calmer and less proggy PAIN OF SALVATION, yet with a
clear Modern Rock approach. This becomes clear in the
songs “Through my eyes”, “Without
worlds” and especially “Together” (this is
too modern). Well, a nice start, but later on the band is
getting too modern with a strong US Nu-breed approach.
Anyway, check out their website at: http://www.spiritfallband.com
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
 EDDIE AND THE TIDE
'STAND
TALL/DIG DOWN DEEP'
(TARGET RECORDS)
The German label TARGET RECORDS has re-issued a bunch of
rare albums by EDDIE AND THE TIDE onto CD. First
there’s the CD ‘Stand tall/Dig down deep’,
2 albums released at the end of the 1980s and basically,
very hard to get as they were released independently. The
2 albums EDDIE AND THE TIDE released on Atlantic Records
were basically good melodic poprockalbums in the style of
EDDIE MONEY and RICK SPRINGFIELD, but on this CD you can
hear the 2 independently records and they saw the band
moving into a more pure AOR style. There were still clear
EDDIE MONEY references, but some of the songs clearly are
pure AOR (a la REFUGEE, MICHAEL MORALES, BRIAN MCDONALD
and 38 SPECIAL). 18 songs are on the CD and it’s
really a pleasure to listen to the 65 minutes. Highlights
are “Stand tall” (classy), “She lives for
the summer”, “It’s about time”,
“Never stop believin’”, “Loving you
from a distance”, “Light up the night” and
“It’s my job” (very strong chorus). These
2 albums are definitely better than the 2 Atlantic
releases, and I can easily recommend to any 80s AOR
freak! Available through TARGET RECORDS at: http://www.target-records.de
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 EDDIE AND THE TIDE 'I DO IT FOR YOU'
(TARGET RECORDS)
Before the 2 Atlantic releases and the above reviewed
‘Stand tall/Dig down deep’ CD, EDDIE AND THE
TIDE released their debut EP ‘Maybe I’ll get
lucky’ in 1983 and the full-length LP ‘I do it
for you’. TARGET RECORDS has now re-issued also that
LP onto CD, with the addition of 3 bonustracks. The music
played here is typical early 80s Melodic Poprock in the
style of EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD, ERIC MARTIN
BAND… The first 2 songs are the strongest tunes on
the album. These are “Running wild running
free” (high class melodic poprock) and “One in
a million” (classy AOR/Radiorock). The rest is pure
Poprock, such as “Maybe I’ll get lucky”,
“Night drive”, “I’m a little bit
nervous”, “Jean” and “Don’t stop
now”, all great songs and very much like early 80s
RICK SPRINGFIELD. The other EDDIE AND THE TIDE CD is more
AOR than this one, but ‘I do it for you’ also
offers a good deal of quality melodic poprock. Available
through TARGET RECORDS at: http://www.target-records.de
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
MAD
MARGRITT 'NEW
SENSATION' (PERRIS RECORDS)
‘New sensation’ is the new CD of the American
band MAD MARGRITT. The album has a playing length of only
34 minutes, but what you get is quality stuff. They play
very good pure 80s melodic rock, and especially the first
6 songs are really good. Opener “Nothing can keep me
away” is catchy pure 80s uptempo melodic rock with a
very cool guitar riff, and in general the song sounds
like a mix between late 80s POISON and early 80s melodic
poprock (!). Next track “Midnight rendezvous”
is very good, as this is (again) uptempo 80s melodic rock
with a chorus that sounds familiar, but is nevertheless
deadly catchy. “Sensations” is a short
interlude, followed by the good melodic rockballad
“Can’t get over you”. “Someone to
love” is up next and this is a great uptempo melodic
rocker. Then comes the lovely AOR/Melodic Rockballad
“Believe” (classy 80s sound). It’s a pity
the last 3 tracks of the CD are less sensational, as
these are a calmer acoustic ballad (“Lost in the
wind”), the AC/DC cover “TNT” and the
midtempo HR song “Long way from home” (a la
KROKUS). If the band would have put 4 or 5 more songs
like the first 6 tracks on the CD, then we could have say
that this would be one of the best releases in a long
time from the USA! Nevertheless, this is still a
recommended piece to fans of classy 80s American Melodic
Rock.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
ANIMAL
'9001B.STEAM'
(PERRIS RECORDS)
This new band features the likes of former WASP members
Chris Holmes, Randy Piper and Tony Richards, so basically
ANIMAL is WASP without Blackie Lawless. Although opener
“900 Ib. Steam” is a good uptempo melodic heavy
rocker that reminds me of WASP, the rest of the CD is
less interesting and also has not much in common with
WASP musically. ANIMAL is much rawer and modern here and
there. The songs are very groovy, such as “Pissed
off”, “Another victim”, “Medicine
men” and “Hunting season”, also a bit
average if you ask me. Nevertheless, the band has a good
lead singer (haven’t got info on his name) who
reminds me of DIO and HURRICANE (Kelly Hansen). Besides
the opener, the only other interesting track is the semi
ballad “Never”. Only recommended to die-hard
WASP fans, but don’t expect anything close to WASP.
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
EVERY
MOTHER’S NIGHTMARE 'LIVE SONGS FROM
SOMEWHERE' (PERRIS RECORDS)
I have never been a big fan of EMN, but they play a good
deal of raw groovy melodic hardrock that fits somewhere
between SKID ROW and a heavier BLUE OYSTER CULT, with
lyrics stuck in the 80s ‘Hair Metal’ days.
There’s some good stuff on this record, such as
“Deeper”, “Sympathy” and “Bring
me down” (unreleased track), and like the title
says, it’s a live record of the band. Every fan of
EMN should purchase this CD, as it is a real pleasure to
listen to if you’re a fan of them. I must say that
live they sound better than on their studio records, but
that’s just my opinion.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
JETBOY 'ONE MORE FOR ROCK AND
ROLL' (PERRIS RECORDS)
JETBOY was a Finish (?) band I believe, and they had
their fifteen minutes of fame back in the late 1980s.
This album mainly consists of tracks taken from their two
releases for MCA Records. They played typical fun 80s
Rock with some HANOI ROCKS references here and there.
Songs like “Feel the shake” (the major
hitsingle), “Trouble comes”, “Missing
you” (AORish), “Burning down” and
“Call me” showed that this band had potential
to make good music. Not all songs were interesting, but
if you want to know this band if you didn’t catch
them first time around then here’s your chance with
this compilation CD on PERRIS RECORDS.
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
VAMP
'TALES
OF LOVE AND LOVELESSNESS' (PERRIS RECORDS)
This VAMP is not the same band that brought you good
typical German Melodic Hardrock about 15 years ago. Nope,
this band isn’t coming out of Germany, but it’s
a Glamrockband from the US of A. Their CD has been
released through Perris Records and offers a mixture of
Glamrock and quirky Poprock. I prefer the Glamrockers, as
they sound pretty nice, such as “4th of July”,
“Misspent youth”, “Love song” and
“Tales of love and lovelessness”. On the other
hand the band also offers rare quirky poprockers, such as
“Cry”, “Angelica’s in love”,
“Julliet’s revenge” and “Run Johnny
Run”, which are not really interesting. However,
this CD offers you 16 short tracks and a fan of 80s
Glamrockfan might want to check it out.
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
 FERREIRA 'FALLEN HEROES' (SHIRE
RECORDS)
In the past I discussed a lot of times stuff Marc
Ferreira from Brazil recorded, such as CARTOON, MONKEY
BITE and also his solo-material. Last year he moved to
the USA, and got signed to a label and now, in the year
2003 Marc has released his official first CD under the
moniker FERREIRA. The CD is titled ‘Fallen
heroes’ and besides Marc on vocals, guitars and
keys, also his brother Alex (drums) and bassist Andy
Guerra are part of the band. The CD contains and is
basically filled with superb high class 80s AOR in the
style of MITCH MALLOY, first HAREM SCAREM, 80s BON JOVI,
SIGNAL and JOHNNY LIMA, put all htese acts in the melting
pot and you have FERREIRA! Without any doubts this is a
highly recommended CD. Highlights include uptempo AOR
rockers like “I’ll be there”,
‘Searching”, “Fallen heroes” and
“Born again”, midtempo AOR pieces such as
“You better wake” (lovely, very much like the
debut of HAREM SCAREM) and “Give you away” and
the lovely semi AOR ballad “Missing you”. Only
the last 3 songs of this CD are a bit weaker, but in
general speaking, this CD is a total must if you’re
into classy 80s AOR!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 ON THE RISE 'ON THE RISE'
(FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
They come out of Norway and are the latest sensation in
the AOR scene. ON THE RISE is a new duo-act, consisting
of vocalist/guitarist Terje Eide and vocalist Bennech
Lyngboe. Their debut CD is going to be released on
February the 24th and is basically a wet dream for the
AOR fans! The music played on the CD is pure AOR/Melodic
Rock reminding of times when music was made to be fun and
sing along. Imagine a mixture of NELSON, MITCH MALLOY,
BRETT WALKER and you’re close to ON THE RISE,
basically mixing Scandi and US AOR. The lead vocals are
very impressive and remind us a lot of the NELSON
BROTHERS. From start to finish, the 14 tracks on the CD
are a pleasure to listen and are almost all sensational
high quality AOR. Favourite tracks include “Beat of
your heart” (catchy as hell!), “The world of
change” (very impressive chorus), “Memories
forever” (lovely semi ballad), “Leaps and
bounds” (classic NELSON style), “Stay
away” (strong uptempo AOR chorus a la first HAREM
SCAREM), “Sadness hits like a stone” (lovely
classy uptempo AOR) and “Two young hearts”
(another lovely classy AOR tune). But then I didn’t
even mention fantastic midtempo AOR tracks like
“Lift you up” and “Pride” (both a la
BRETT WALKER’s debut CD) and the melodic
hardrocksong “Stranded” that suddenly reminds
me of RAINBOW in better days. It’s just all there on
this disc, and it proves we have to keep our eyes open
for all the releases on FRONTIERS RECORDS, by far the
best recordlabel in the world!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 GIANT 'LIVE AND ACOUSTIC
OFFICIAL BOOTLEG' (FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
A new release by GIANT, but not a real new one, as this
is a live CD with additionally some acoustic versions of
classic GIANT tracks. The recordings have been available
as Bootleg for quite some time, but now FRONTIERS RECORDS
has released it as an official CD Bootleg, making this
album a true must for every GIANT fan. Not all classics
were played the night they recorded this set, but still
we can enjoy perfectly performed versions of such great
GIANT songs like “I’m a believer”, “I
can’t get close enough”, “I’ll see
you in my dreams” and acoustically “Stay”.
Total must for GIANT fans!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
CRUSH
40 'CRUSH
40' (FRONTIERS RECORDS/BERTUS)
CRUSH 40 is a new American/Japanese outfit, featuring
vocalist Johnny Gioeli (AXEL RUDI PELL, HARDLINE) and
guitarist Jun Senoue. The CD they recorded contains good
performed straight-ahead 80s type of uptempo melodic
hardrock the American way, like you can hear on
“Live and learn”, “Into the wind” and
“All the way”. The best songs however are the
semi-ballad “Watch me fly” and the superb
uptempo fun melodic rocker “It doesn’t
matter” (a song sung by TONY HARNELL from
TNT/WESTWORLD). A nice album, although it isn’t as
good as the other FRONTIERS RECORDS releases so far this
year (ON THE RISE and ARTENSION).
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 DREAM EVIL 'EVILIZED'
(CENTURY MEDIA/SUBURBAN)
Last year we were surprised by the debut CD of the
Swedish band DREAM EVIL. That record was one of the best
melodic metal releases of 2002! Just 9 months after the
debut CD ‘Dragonslayer’ DREAM EVIL returns with
the release of their 2nd effort. The new CD is titled
‘Evilized’ and I can comfort you, because also
this new CD is a fantastic high quality melodic metal
release. Especially the superb melodic lead vocals of
singer Niklas Isfeldt and the big guitarsound of both
Fredrik Nordstrom and Gus G. are making this new DREAM
EVIL CD another true winner for fans of melodic metal.
Also the sound and production is of a very high level, so
I can easily give this album a big recommendation!
Highlights on ‘Evilized’ are songs like
“By my side” (great uptempo melodic metal),
“Evilized” (lovely melodic Prog Metal a la
THRESHOLD), “Forevermore” (great melodic
rockballad), “Children of the night” (fantastic
catchy uptempo melodic hardrock/metal), “Live a
lie” (fantastic uptempo melodic heavy rock/metal)
and the haunting melodic rockballad “The end”.
Without any doubts, this new DREAM EVIL CD is a total
must for fans of quality melodic metal!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
SPECIAL
EXPERIMENT
'FORTUNE MEMORIES' (INDEPENDENT)
Out of Germany comes SPECIAL EXPERIMENT, a band formed
around the talented keyboardplayer Dzidek Marcinkiewicz.
Their debut CD ‘Fortune memories’ is filled
with high quality instrumental Progressive Rock/Metal.
Basically, everything sounds perfect on this CD,
especially the production and the guitar/keyboard duals.
If you’re looking for a perfect instrumental record
then look no further, ‘cause SPECIAL EXPERIMENT
offers you everything! Highlights among the 8 included
tracks are “Kiss of a vampire”, “Fortune
memories” and “King of twilight”. What
more can I say then to highly recommend this excellent
instrumemental progressive Rock/Metal record. More info
at: http://www.special-experiment.de and e-mail them at: dzidek@t-online.de
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
KTL
'M.2002.E'
(INDEPENDENT)
We’re back in Italy again with the band KTL. They
sent me a 6-track demo CDR. It starts with a very good
high quality melodic Prog Metal song called “The
screen”. A very good start if you ask me, but
unfortunately it’s followed up by a weak
experimental Metal song called “Void”.
“Gli artigli” then again is much better as this
is a nice uptempo melodic Prog Metal tune. The rest of
the CD is mostly instrumental, except for the
experimental “Heart of darkness”. This could
have been much better, as the first song indicates, a
great Prog Metal song. Anyway, check out this Italian
band at: http://www.kappatielle.net and e-mail at: ktl@kappatielle.net
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
RAY
C. 'WALKING
INTO WALLS' (INDEPENDENT)
RAY C. is settled in California, USA and he sent me his
debut CD ‘Walking into walls’. He has done
everything on his own on the CD, so we have to deal here
with a talented multi-instrumentalist. The music is good
80s influenced melodic poprock like a lot of Californian
bands/artists made back in that period. RAY C. does it
quite good, but I have some complaints about the drums
and Ray’s vocals. The drums aren’t real, as
they are programmed, and for a Rockband this should not
be done. In the 1980s you could get away with it, but
nowadays either Ray shoudl hire a real drummer or learn
the drums, as he is well-gifted and already plays all the
other instruments, so why not try also learning to play
drums instead of choosing the easy way (programming).
Anyway, also Ray’s vocals aren’t that
sensational, but I think this could improve within the
next years, as Ray is quite young. Well, then we’ll
have a look at the offered music, as it is quite nice
melodic poprock. Highlights can be found in the shape of
“Know about me” (catchy 80s uptempo melodic
poprock a la RICK SPRINGFIELD, DANNY WILDE, NELSON,
MICHAEL MORALES and some BRYAN ADAMS), “one more
night” (nice midtempo AOR/Poprock a la JUDE COLE,
JOHN PARR, EDDIE AND THE TIDE etc.), “This
time” (good semi ballad), “Catch me” (best
song, great catchy uptempo poprocker a la MICHAEL
MORALES) and “Hiding” (pure 80s AOR
guitarsound!). I think we have to keep our eyes open in
the future for this talented young musician. If
you’re into classy 80s Poprock, then I urgerly ask
you to check out this CD. More info at: http://www.raycweb.com and e-mail him at: mail@raycweb.com
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
TOO
OLD TO ROCK 'TOO DUMB TO QUIT (INDEPENDENT)
TOO OLD TO ROCK is the brainchild of guitarists Jim
Reindel and Chris Hattingh. Although the cover of the CD
looks deceptive, the included music is of a very high
level. The music performed on ‘Too Dumb To
Quit" is very impressive, high quality instrumental
melodic rock/hardrock with some progressive rock
influences here and there. The best songs are
“Shuffleboard Champs”, “Bingo Night At
Emily’s”, “Pass The Geritol”,
“Too Dumb To Quit” and “Goodbye
Spandex” (very good!). The guitar duels between Jim
and Chris work well, so all I can add here is that every
fan of instrumental melodic rock/hardrock/prog should
check out this release at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/toooldtorock and e-mail them at: fathatz@cfl.rr.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
ANTHENORA 'THE GENERAL’S
AWAKENING' (INDEPENDENT)
Out of Italy comes ANTHENORA, a good quality band playing
melodic metal, yet they have a raw lead singer. The songs
however are quite good, such as the opener “Planet
Jail” (straight-ahead uptempo melodic metal) and
“The savior” (uptempo Metal). The 4 songs on
the CD of ANTHENORA are nice to hear for a True Metal
fan, and I think we can expect more in the future from
them. In the meantime, check out their website at: http://www.anthenora.com and e-mail them at: anthenora@yahoo.com
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
GLOYD
'LIVE
NIGHTS' (ROCKWERK RECORDS)
This German band exists for over 25 year, but this is the
first time I got to know their music. They play typical
80s German teutonic Hardrock (a la ACCEPT, RESTLESS,
GRAVESTONE, KROKUS, VOX, TYRANT, TOX, RENEGADE). The
band’s line-up features former members of TRANS AM
and STS 8 MISSION, both known for good melodic rock
releases. On this CD the music is also from a high
quality, but the main problem with G’LOYD are the
very raw lead vocals which sound a lot like UDO
DIRKSCHNEIDER from ACCEPT. If you like such vocals, then
you love GLOYD, but I think the band
would be better of with a better ‘melodic’ lead
singer, because now they remind me a lot of the typical
80s German bands that never got any attention outside
Germany. The fact they have been making music for 25
years now is also making clear that this band and their
new live-CD should only attract fans of typical 80s
German Heavy Metal and then especially ACCEPT fans. I am
quite sure there’s still a market in Germany for
this type of Metal, but I would rather hear a better
singer, but I think that’s impossible to change,
because the lead singer is the leader of the band, so go
figure... Anyway, if you like any of the mentioned bands,
don’t let my words hold you back checking out this
Live CD, as it’s a quality record and definitely not
some cheap release, and with a playing time of 70 minutes
it should please you for a long time. More info at: http://www.g-loyd.de and e-mail them at: info@g-loyd.de
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
GUARDIAN
FORCE 'LAND
OF MAGIC' (INDEPENDENT)
Out of Helsinki, Finland comes the very promising young
band GUARDIAN FORCE. They play melodic Power Metal in the
style of STRATOVARIUS, SONATA ARCTICA... I really enjoyed
the 4 tracks on their demo CDR, and although it
isn’t as good as their countrymen of afforementioned
bands, it is clearly a start to something that could turn
out to be one of Finland’s brightest hopes in the
future. Especially the songs “Land of magic”
and “Voice of the wind” are very impressive
uptempo melodic metal songs that somehow sound like a mix
between EDGUY and URIAH HEEP. Also the fast Power Metal
song “March of evil” is quite stunning and has
a catchy chorus a la STRATOVARIUS. The only thing that
needs to be done here is a better production next time,
if only these guys could record their songs at the famous
Finnvox Studios, then this could lead to something very
big. In the meantime, check out GUARDIAN FORCE at: http://gf.rocks.it and e-mail them at: lari.sorvo@kolumbus.fi or latekosk@hotmail.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
GREAT
WHITE
'THANK YOU...GOODNIGHT (ULFTONE MUSIC)
This live-CD of veteran rockers GREAT WHITE is a
recording of their last performance as GREAT WHITE, so a
rather unique affair. I always found them just another
rockband, nothing that special. In the 80s they had some
great releases, especially the first 3 LPs, but as the
90s came closer and particularly in the 1990s, the band
moved onto a bluesier hardrock approach and waved goodbye
to their pure melodic rock style which gained them
popularity in the first place (sounding like a cross
between DOKKEN and LED ZEPPELIN). Anyway, this live-CD
sees them doing mostly song of their bluesy hardrock
affair, so I guess it’s more interesting for the
fans of the band. Songs like “Desert moon”,
“Old rose motel”, “House of broken
love”, “Mistabone” are examples of their
later bluesier rock approach, but happily this farewell
also includes some of their oldies, such as the great
ballad “Save your love” or the melodic rockers
“Face the day”, “On your knees” and
the classic “Rock me”. Concluded, GREAT WHITE
had a long succesfull career and this farewell live CD is
definitely a must to every fan of the band, God bless and
goodnight...
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
OVERLOAD
'OF
DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES' (MAD METAL WORKS)
Out of Switzerland comes OVERLOAD, and their debut CD is
titled ‘Of dreams and nightmares’. Instrumental
it’s very good quality Prog/Power Metal, but
unfortunately vocally it isn’t that good.
That’s a real pity, because everything sounds pretty
good. Happily, there are also 3 songs which feature
better vocals. These are “Broken glass”
(uptempo melodic metal), “Ocean of tears” (very
good melodic Prog Metal) and “Time for a
change” (great catchy uptempo melodic metal). On the
other songs of the CD it’s vocally not that strong,
although like I said, instrumental everything is in good
condition. So my conclusion is that this band is able to
make good quality music, but probably needs to hire a new
lead singer to improve on a future recording. In the
meantime, check out OVERLOAD at: http://www.overload-rock.ch and e-mail them at: overload-rock@bluemail.ch
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SEAN
MERCER
'ELECTRIC STORM' (INDEPENDENT)
Guitarist SEAN MERCER comes out of the US State
Washington and his CD ‘Electric storm’ is a
high-class instrumental AOR/Melodic Rock/Prog album that
comes dangerously close to YNGWIE MALMSTEEN. 12 songs are
included, and the musicianship is of a very high level.
Highlights are “Elation”, “The
festival”, “Electric storm”, “Holding
back”, “Mushrooms of fire” (hello
MALMSTEEN!) and “Opus 2”. Without any doubts,
if you’re into quality instrumental rock music, this
CD brings you as much pleasure as listening to a
MALMSTEEN record. More info at: http://www.seanmercer.com and e-mail him at: info@seanmercer.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
DEVEREAUX
'PRIMAL
NEED' (REENO RECORDS)
A few years ago I reviewed a great CD of the German band
DEVEREAUX, which contained typical German Melodic Rock.
Now a few years later the band has released a new album
entitled ‘Primal need’. And I am afraid I have
to inform you that the band has changed their style,
although happily there are still quite a few great
melodic rocksongs. Opener “Anything” however is
a very modern type of nu-breed melodic poprocker, but
just as I thought the whole CD would sound like this, it
never gets as modern as track 1. Next track “When I
look into your eyes” for example has a very nice
melodic chorus. The real highlights however can be found
towards the end, especially the last 3 tracks. These are
“My prison” (good semi AOR/Melodic Rocker with
very good harmonies, basically a very strong song),
“Everyday heroe” (great chorus, a bit like
ALIAS, ON THE RISE) and closing track “Break me
down” (catchy uptempo melodic rocker like
LOUD’N’CLEAR). As you see, the band has now a
different style than on their debut, and I can fully
respect after listening to the whole CD, as it becomes
clear they have not only an updated sound now, but they
also added a lot of AOR into their music. This can also
be heard in (semi) ballads like “Dedicated” and
“Touch me”. So the conclusion is that this CD
is still quite interesting and recommended to the AOR fan
that don’t might a few modern rock influences here
and there. Recommended tracks are the last 3 songs that
bring out the best of DEVEREAUX. More info at: http://www.devereaux.de
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
 WUTHERING HEIGHTS
'TO
TRAVEL FOR EVERMORE' (SENSORY/INTROMENTAL)
Out of Denmark comes WUTHERING HEIGHTS, and their new CD
‘To travel for evermore’ is a fantastic high
class melodic prog metal release that can easily be
called ‘sensational’! It’s the follow-up
to their debut ‘Within’, which I unfortunately
never heard, but will track down soon I hope. Anyway, to
tell you more about this band, they have just recently
changed their line-up, which now consists of main
composer/guitarist Erik Ravn, ex-TAD MOROSE lead vocalist
Kristian Andren (fantastic lead singer by the way), TIME
MACHINE bassist Lorenzo Deho, ZOOL guitarist Hendrik
Flymann and long-time members Morten Sorensen (drums) and
Bune S. Brink (keyboards). The production was in the
hands of TOMMY HANSEN (PRETTY MAIDS, HELLOWEEN), and is
of course of a very high level. All together they have
released a wonderful CD that sounds like the perfect
mixture between KAMELOT, BLIND GUARDIAN, ROYAL HUNT and
MALMSTEEN. In other words, ‘To travel for
evermore’ is a truly fantastic melodic Prog Metal
album. All tracks are highlights, but to be a bit more
specific, my favourite tracks are “The nevershining
stones” (lovely uptempo neo-classical Prog/Power a
la KAMELOT), “Dancer in the light” (great
Prog/Power), “A sinner’s confession”
(divided in 4 parts), “See tomorrow’s
shine” (faster uptempo Power Metal) and
“Through within to beyond”. The album was
released a few months ago, so better get yourself a copy
before it will be hard to get in the near future.
Especially Prog/Power Metal freaks must have this CD in
their collection!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 NEMESIS 'EDEN?'
(SENSORY/INTROMENTAL)
The American label SENSORY RECORDS recently released 2
awesome CDs that are not that easy to obtain here in
Europe, but both a must to fans of Prog/Power Metal. The
2nd album of WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a very impressive
melodic Prog Metal like ROYAL HUNT meets KAMELOT. The
other CD the New Jersey settled label Sensory/The
laser’s edge has released is the new CD of NEMESIS.
This is a Hungarian band that already released a couple
CDs, but ‘Eden?’ is their very first English
language album and also the first album with the new
line-up of the band. After listening to the 8 included
tracks, I was very impressed. This is a fantastic Prog
Metal album that will please all fans of the genre. They
sound like a mix between DREAM THEATER, ARTENSION and
MARK BOALS. The reference to MARK BOALS is mentioned,
because not only lead singer Zoltan Kiss reminds me a lot
of Mark, but in general, the whole CD is reminding me a
lot of the last MARK BOALS album ‘The edge of the
world’. This is a truly wonderful melodic Prog Metal
release and next to WUTHERING HEIGHTS the second
must-have release on SENSORY RECORDS. Highlights on
‘Eden?’ are “Four mirrors” (very good
lead vocals, fantastic melodic chorus, lovely melodic
Prog Metal song a la ARTENSION), “Eden?” (great
Prog Metal, lovely keys, very much like last solo CD of
MARK BOALS), “Eternal circle” (10 minutes
Prog/Power a la THRESHOLD, EVERGREY) and
“Predestination”. So, ‘Eden?’ by the
Hungarian band NEMESIS is a highly recommended album to
fans of quality Prog Metal and I can further inform you
that in a few months a new CD of the band will be
released by Sensory Records, so there’s something to
look out for. In the meantime, check out this awesome
album!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
SENGAYA
'METAMORPHOSIS'
(INDEPENDENT)
SENGAYA is yet another quality band from Germany. They
play very impressive Progressive Metal, and the included
7 songs take over 30 minutes of great pleasure with
excellent musicianship and very good lead vocals (by
singer Stefan Pohl). Highlights are “Way of
ecstasy”, “Vengeance” and “World of
illusion” (strong chorus), all wonderful melodic
Prog Metal pieces. I haven’t got much info on the
band, but I can guarantee that if you like Progressive
Metal you’re gonna love this band. More info at: http://www.sengaya-music.de
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SECRET
OF DAWN 'TRAPPED
IN SPACE' (INDEPENDENT)
Lately in France there has been a big explosion of new
band that play quality Prog/Power Metal and one of the
latest additions is the band SECRET OF DAWN. There are 6
tracks on their CD, and especially titletrack
“Trapped in space” and closing track
“Revolution maker” made a big impression on me,
as both these songs are fantastic fast uptempo melodic
Power Metal in the style of ANGRA and LABYRINTH, with
some very good melodies, great vocals and excellent
guitarwork. In between you can also find some good
Progressive Metal (“Within the blackhole”,
“The dark road” and “Moonlight
children”), so in other words, SECRET OF DAWN is
another recommended French band. More info can be found
at: http://www.chez.com/secretofdawn and e-mail them at: secretofdawn@chez.com
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
ANATRIZ 'NEVERENDING LABYRINTH'
(INDEPENDENT)
Out of Brazil comes ANATRIZ, a band playing quality
Prog/Power Metal that sounds a bit German/European. The
CD they sent me contains 3 tracks and instrumental it
sounds pretty good, but vocally it’s not that
sensational. I think lead singer Andre Muller is from
German origin, but anyway, he is not the strongest
element of ANATRIZ. Nevertheless, the 3 songs on their CD
‘Neverending labyrinth’ are still quite nice,
with as best track the uptempo melodic Power Metal song
“Labyrinth”. Check out ANATRIZ for yourself at:
http://www.anatriz.com and e-mail them at: signomortis@yahoo.com.br
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 DARNA 'DARNA' (LA BRUJA
PRODUCTIONS)
The Spanish band DARNA features some former WARCRY
members, but is basically a hot new band. Their original
lead singer Victor Garcia (also ex-WARCRY) returned to
his old band AVALANCH and instead we now welcome a female
lead singer called Ruth. She has got a very strong and
terrific voice, and is definitely contributing a lot to
DARNA’s sound. If you have read all our reviews, you
know I reviewed both bands a while ago, but now
there’s DARNA, and this band from Oviedo might
become one of the best Spanish Metal bands ever, so
better read on! The CD they released contains 10 tracks
and all of them (not counting the intro track) are super
sensational high quality melodic Prog/Power Metal tunes
with passionate vocals by Ruth, excellent guitarwork by
Silvia and Dani Sevillano, catchy hooks and haunting
memorable choruses to sing-a-long with. Songs like
“Muere el silencio”, “Loco bardo”,
“El oraculo”, “La larga marcha”,
“Secuelas” and “Desleal” are all
really terrific Prog/Power Metal tracks. This is a very
tight band that showcase some excellent musicianship on
their debut CD, which also has a very good production.
Without any doubts, this band is highly recommended! More
info at: http://www.telefonica.net/web/darna and e-mail them at: labrujapromos@hotmail.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 MYON 'GHOST IN PARADISE'
(LOW FREQUENCY RECORDS/ROCK INC./BERTUS)
‘Ghost in paradise’ is the new CD of the Finish
band MYON. I remember their debut ‘Heaven’s
garden’ quite well, a good melodic Prog Metal album
released on NOISE RECORDS. Now they switched to a new
label, the Finish label LOW FREQUENCY RECORDS and their
first release on this label is very impressive. 10 songs
are included on the CD, and without a doubt, this is a
highly recommended Melodic Prog/Power Metal album that
combines elements of 80s US Prog/Power Metal with Scandi
Melodic Heavy Rock, ending up sounding like a cross
between TNT, TAD MOROSE, NATION, 80s QUEENSRYCHE and
early CRIMSON GLORY. The band’s new lead singer is
called Jukka Nummi, and he has a really great
high-pitched voice which works perfectly for MYON’s
melodic Prog Metal. All 10 tracks are sensational and
combine the best of Prog Metal, Power Metal and Melodic
Heavy Rock. Highlights are “Dead of the dawn”
(super high quality uptempo ‘catchy’ melodic
metal, very 80s with lots of keys and hooks), “The
quest” (lovely midtempo 80s US Prog/Power Metal with
a nice keyboardsolo and a sound close to early
QUEENSRYCHE), the semi-ballads “In me” and
“Nostradameus” (both like TNT meets CRIMSON
GLORY) and the faster uptempo melodic Power Metal tracks
“Tournament” and “Follow the sign”
(HAMMERFALL meets BALANCE OF POWER). I don’t think I
need to add more than saying that this CD is a total must
for the fans of quality melodic metal!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 SILENT VOICES 'CHAPTERS OF TRAGEDY'
(LOW FREQUENCY RECORDS/ROCK INC./BERTUS)
‘Chapters of tragedy’ is the debut CD of the
Finish Progressive Metal band SILENT VOICES. The band is
clearly influenced by Prog Masters DREAM THEATER and also
SYMPHONY X and early RUSH. The band’s CD contains 7
tracks and has a fair production. It’s a good
quality record that will please the Prog Metal fans,
although it is not sensational. Highlights are the
uptempo Prog Metal tracks “Beyond shadows”,
“Cross my path” and “The last
sunset”. They improved a lot since the release of
their single “You got it”, which was a very
average release. Now they have managed to release a good
quality Prog Metal album and I think a future album will
see if they can improve even more.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
THUNDER
REIGNS
'EVIL ONE' (PROMO)
Only one song can be found on the CD of the Californian
Metal band THUNDER REIGNS. The music is nice standard 80s
Heavy Metal, but vocally it’s not that good. They
remind me a lot of MANILLA ROAD! The song is called
“Evil one” and you can download it at: http://www.ThunderReigns.com and e-mail them at: Mark@ThunderReigns.com
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
CENTER
'IN
YOUR WORLD' (INDEPENDENT)
CENTER is a German band and their CD ‘In your
world’ contains well-produced melodic poprock with a
strong modern approach. Actually they sound a bit like
FAF, but then far more Modern, yet sometimes with good
melodies. There are 7 tracks on the CD, and as best ones
we can mention the uptempo melodic poprockers
“Water” and “Paradise without you”
and the semi progressive melodic rocker “Center (in
your world)” (8 minutes playing length). On the
other hand songs like “Do what the crowd asks
for” and “Nothing left to lose” are very
modern heavy rockers. You can check out everything on
CENTER at: http://www.center-band.de and e-mail them at: info@center-band.de
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
MURDER
SHE WROTE 'DIVA'
(HOUSEMASTER RECORDS)
This is a band from Kaiserlautern, and their mini-CD
contains 4 tracks. The album has a good production and
musically we move into Progressive Melodic Rock with a
strong 70s vibe here and there. The uptempo rockers
“Time is on my side” and “Walther:
Frozen” are pretty good and show MURDER SHE WROTE at
their best. You can check out more on the band at: http://www.murdershewrote.de and e-mail them at: Thinnes@MurderSheWrote.de
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 WONDERLAND 'WONDERLAND'
(UNDERGROUND
SYMPHONY RECORDS/RISING WORKS)
Out of Italy comes WONDERLAND, a band that also features
former LABYRINTH drummer Frank Andiver. Their same titled
debut CD is a wonderful piece of melodic Prog/Power Metal
that reminds me a lot of LABYRINTH, but nevertheless,
it’s a highly recommended album! Besides, the album
has some stunning artwork and the packaging is very nice,
but most important is the music, because the CD contains
10 wonderful tracks. Highlights are “The fallen
angel”, “Moonchild”, “Freedom”,
“Nothing’s left to say” and “Here I
am”, all 4 wonderful classy faster melodic Power
Metal tracks in the typical Italian style (LABYRINTH), so
a lot of keys are included as well and besides, I also
need to add here that lead singer Alexx Hall has a great
melodic voice. Also pretty good is the calmer ballad
“Summer waiting” and another notable track is
closing track “Hello”, a cool cover of the
famous 80s Lionel Richie song! There are a lot of Power
Metal bands out there, but this WONDERLAND is definitely
one of the better ones, because they use a lot of
melodies in their Power Metal. More info at: http://www.risingworks.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 SHADOWS OF STEEL 'SECOND FLOOR'
(UNDERGROUND
SYMPHONY RECORDS/RISING WORKS)
The Italian band SHADOWS OF STEEL has released quite a
few CDs already, and recently they unleashed another new
CD entitled ‘Second floor’. The album contains
11 tracks and without a doubt, this is yet another high
quality release from Italy. SHADOWS OF STEEL are playing
melodic Power Metal, and what sets them apart from other
bands is the big keyboardsound being used. A resemblance
with RHAPSODY is easily made, but SHADOWS OF STEEL is
even more Keyboard orientated without losing the
heaviness of the typical Power Metal band. The band is at
their best during the fast Power Metal tracks
“Somewhere high above”, “Heroes”,
“Dame and lord”, “Crying” and
“Distant voices”. Also the slower songs are
quite nice, such as the semi-ballads “Talk to the
wind” and “December”. However, most of the
time SHADOWS OF STEEL is doing what every other Power
Metal band is also doing, playing fast and melodic songs,
but this band is doing it very well. This CD is
definitely a must for fans of Italo Power Metal!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 HOLY KNIGHTS 'A GATE THROUGH THE
PAST'
(UNDERGROUND
SYMPHONY RECORDS/RISING WORKS)
I don’t have much info on this band, but I do know
that HOLY KNIGHTS is coming out of Italy. And also this
Italian is playing melodic Power Metal with a mediaeval
touch, kinda like RHAPSODY, but yet again I have to admit
that the album is of a very high level, so another
recommend album to the fans of this genre! Just like most
of the other CDs released on UNDERGROUND SYMPHONY
RECORDS, also this album was mastered at Finnvox Studios
in Helsinki, Finland by Mika Jussila, and like all those
other albums mastered at those studios, also this CD by
HOLY KNIGHTS has a HUGE sound. This all combined makes
‘A gate through the past’ a pleasure to listen
to from start to finish. 12 tracks are on the CD, and my
favourite tracks would be “Sir Percival” (big
uptempo Power Metal a la RHAPSODY), “Gate through
the past” (lovely super melodic bombastic uptempo
Prog/Power a la LABYRINTH, with a lovely chorus),
“Love against the power of evil” (nice epic
melodic rockballad), “Quest of heroes” (great
Prog/Power) and “The promise” (another lovely
melodic Prog/Power Metal song). What more do I need to
add? This CD is yet another recommended Italo Power Metal
album!
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
 LABYRINTH 'NO LIMITS' (RISING
WORKS)
Together with RHAPSODY, LABYRINTH was one of the first
Italian bands to really make a breakthrough outside of
Italy which caused an enormous wave throughout Europe,
resulting in hundreds of young new bands playing the
Progressive/Power Metal of these bands. Especially out of
LABYRINTH’s homeland Italy a lot of new (quality)
melodic Power Metal bands have been releasing on and on
CDs. Before 1995 the Italian metalscene was dead, but
after the releases of the debut albums of LABYRINTH and
RHAPSODY, the Italian scene became one of the strongest
in Europe. If we go back in time, LABYRINTH released
their debut CD ‘No limits’ back in 1995, and
now RISINGWORKS has re-released the CD, with additionally
2 new bonustracks. ‘No limits’ was not as good
as their classic follow-ups, but still a very good
Prog/Power Metal release. The strongest songs on ‘No
limits’ were (and still are!) “Dreamland”
(good Prog Metal a la TIME MACHINE), “Piece of
time” (great catchy uptempo melodic heavy rocker),
“In the shade” (very good uptempo melodic Power
Metal), “No limits” (great melodic Prog Metal),
“The right sign” (great Prog/Power) and the 2
bonustracks, “Call me” (uptempo Power Metal)
and the semi-ballad “Miles away”. If you
didn’t get the first LABYRINTH CD the first time,
this is a good opportunity to purchase it, and as a bonus
you’ll get 2 new tracks and some nice new packaging.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
ESCAPE
'SPIRITUAL
GUIDANCE' (INDEPENDENT)
There are many bands out there called ESCAPE, and this is
one of them. They hail from Brazil, and their new demo
CDR contains 3 tracks. The sound of ESCAPE is quite good,
but the weakest link in this band is definitely the lead
singer Renato Agostini, because his voice is more
suitable for Thrash-Metal instead of the melodic Prog
Metal of ESCAPE. Nevertheless, a song like “The last
shot” is quite good, but better use a melodic lead
singer next time (a la ANGRA) instead of a raw singer (a
la SEPULTURA). Nevertheless, if you don’t mind Prog
Metal with a raw Thrash-orientated lead singer, then
visit ESCAPE at: http://www.escape.dk3.com and e-mail them at: bandaescape@bol.com.br
(Points:
6.5 out of 10)
 HOUSE OF MIRRORS 'HOUSE OF MIRRORS'
(INDEPENDENT)
I have said it before, but Finland is making an enormous
jump from being an unimportant country for Hardrock/Metal
in the 1980s until a big scene in the year 2003. It all
started with bands like STRATOVARIUS, SONATA ARCTICA,
NIGHTWISH and URBAN TALE in the 1990s, and now continues
with a complete new wave of Finish hardrock and
metalbands. And just like the Italian movement, also most
of these new Finish bands are bringing music of a very
high level. One of the latest new sensations is a band
called HOUSE OF MIRRORS, a band from a city called Turku.
The band was able to record 3 songs with the famous Mika
Jussila at his Finnvox studios, and so the sound is just
perfect! But also the 3 songs are from a very high level.
HOUSE OF MIRRORS is playing lovely high class 80s AOR in
the style of URBAN TALE, JOURNEY, SHY, GRAND ILLUSION,
STREET TALK, GLORY etc. etc. All 3 songs are sensational,
starting off with the uptempo pure 80s AOR song “Top
of the world” with it’s catchy hooks and lovely
chorus being a dream for the fans of JOURNEY, GRAND
ILLUSION and URBAN TALE. Up next is the catchy uptempo
AOR rocker “Searching for my soul” (a la GLORY,
TREAT, RETURN) and finally there is “Heart is the
key” (semi AOR ballad a la STREET TALK, with a
beautiful chorus). Conclusion is that with HOUSE OF
MIRRORS we have another recommended Finish band and this
time it’s in the AOR genre, so European AOR labels
wake up and sign this band! More info at: http://www.house-of-mirrors.com and e-mail them at: info@house-of-mirrors.com
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
LEGACY
'LEGACY'
(CHAVIS RECORDS)
I reviewed a demo CD of the American band LEGACY a long
time ago, but now finally the album has officially been
released on the American label CHAVIS RECORDS. The CD
contains 11 tracks, and is basically a highly recommended
album to fans of classy 80s American Melodic Hard/Heavy
Rock in the style of IMPELLITERRI, FIFTH ANGEL, KUNI,
ROUGH CUTT, TAKARA, WARRIOR... The lead vocals are very
impressive and come across like a mix between JEFF SCOTT
SOTO and GLENN HUGHES. Together with heavy guitar riffs
and a strong production, this product is quite
impressive. Highlights include “Troubleshooter”
(classy 80s uptempo melodic heavy rocker), “Autumn
rising” (calm start with beautiful lead vocals,
later it develops into a stunning high class uptempo
melodic rocker, a bit like MALMSTEEN), “Mission of
mercy” (uptempo melodic hardrock) and the great semi
melodic rockballad “Can’t remember love”.
This is a great release on the rising American label
CHAVIS RECORDS, which has an interesting release schedule
for 2003, and this LEGACY is just the start...
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
BANGKOK
BABES 'LOCKET’N’CHAIN'
(CHAVIS RECORDS)
BANGKOK BABES is a Scandinavian band that reminds me a
lot of HANOI ROCKS, BANG GANG, DAD, GRINGOS LOCOS...
Their CD ‘Locket’n’chain’ has been
released on Chavis Records, and although it’s a
quality record for the specific genre, I wouldn’t
call this a sensational record. However, the mix of
Groovy and Sleazy Hardrock of BANGKOK BABES isn’t
bad at all, and I guess people who like AEROSMITH, GREAT
WHITE, LA GUNS, EVERY MOTHER’S NIGHTMARE and even
SKID ROW will like this band a lot. Best songs on the
album are “Wasted advice”, “Take what you
want” (uptempo melodic rocker) and semi AOR (!)
ballad “Is that you” (best song). This is a
recommended album if you like any of the mentioned acts.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
SOMETIMES
X 'ZERO
2 HERO' (CHAVIS RECORDS)
CHAVIS RECORDS is not only focusing on
Melodic/Glam/Sleaze/Hardrockalbums, but they are also
bringing some other genres to life, such as Symphonic
Rock (soon to be released) and Modern Nu-Breed Rock. This
last genre is being released in the shape of SOMETIMES X,
a new American band. There are only 7 songs on their
first CD, which barely makes the 30 minutes playing
length and is mostly covered with typical nu-breed
melodic poprock with sometimes nice melodies here and
there (“Touched” and “Color me
gone”). The best track however is “What I
like”, with it’s very melodic chorus. The rest
of the album is actually way too modern, but if you dig
the nu-breed stuff you’ll like this too.
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
CYCLOPS
'CYCLOPS
FROM HELL' (INDEPENDENT)
We’re back in Italy again with CYCLOPS, a very good
band which is playing for once not the typical tra-la-la
Metal you would expect from any other Italian band. No,
CYCLOPS is bringing you real Metal like it was played in
the 1980s, raw but still very melodic. A comparison I
came up with was HAMMERFALL, yet vocally CYCLOPS is
singing with an accent. Nevertheless, 4 tracks on the CD
are very impressive. These are “Metal eye
beast” (good uptempo melodic metal like HAMMERFALL),
“Kill the priest” (good midtempo melodic metal,
very strong song!), “Bloody tears” (great epic
ballad) and “Metalee withus” (good fatser
uptempo melodic Power Metal). The only songs that
weren’t that interesting were intro “Welcome to
me!” (not a real song of course) and closing track
“Stop this hell”. This last mentioned track is
making me unsure what the band means with it, a joke or a
serious song, because it’s a terrible slow Doom
Metal song with Death grunts. Anyway, if you leave that
closing track alone, you’ll have a decent quality
melodic Metal record. More info on CYCLOPS at:
http://www.cyclopsfromhell.com and e-mail them at: metaleye@virgilio.it
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
SONS
OF TOMORROW 'LEAVING THE EARTH' (INDEPENDENT)
Denmark hasn’t been bringing as much bands as Sweden
did the past 10 years, but with ROYAL HUNT they had a
successfull band that could easily compete with PRETTY
MAIDS and FATE as most popular bands. The underground
scene however didn’t really took off, and so I am
writing a review of one of the few bands out of the
independent scene. They are called SONS OF TOMORROW, and
I was told they played melodic metal in the style of
their popular countrymen, but I am afraid this band is
making a totally different metal style, namely depressing
Metal which combines CANDLEMASS and METALLICA, with a lot
of Modern/Nu-Metal influences. If you like that kind of
Metal you might want to check out SONS OF TOMORROW, as
they do it quite well, but for the average melodic Metal
fan not much of interest happens on this CD. More info
at: http://www.sonsoftomorrow.com and e-mail them at: Sonsoftomorrow@chicks.dk
(Points:
6.0 out of 10)
 TIMELOCK 'CIRCLE OF DECEPTION'
(XYMPHONIA RECORDS)
8 years ago the Dutch band TIMELOCK released their 2nd
and last album, and that was a pity because they were one
of the best Symphonic Rockbands in Holland. Happily, they
recently reformed and just a few weeks ago, a new CD was
launched. The album is titled ‘Circle of
deception’ and contains 10 tracks, with a total
playing length of more than 60 minutes. Musically time
stood still for the band, as TIMELOCK picked up where
they left in 1994, which is very Melodic
Symphonic/Neo-Progressive Rock with truly wonderful lead
vocals of singer Ruud Stoker and brilliant keyboardwork
by Julian Driessen (FOR ABSENT FRIENDS). I am really glad
to see the band returning to the scene with maybe their
strongest release so far. Last year I saw them live in
action and now hearing their new songs on the new studio
album is a pleasure to listen to. From start to finish
this CD grabs you and never lets go, as all songs are
sensational and more than a must to hear for both fans of
Neo-Prog/Sympho and AOR/Pomp/Melodic Rockfans. TIMELOCK
attracts fans of all melodic genres! The album contains
like I already mentioned 10 songs, of which the
highlights are “Louise Brooks revisited”
(lovely Neo-Prog, very melodic chorus and a nice
keyboardsolo), “Different light” (another
superb piece of high class Neo-Prog), “The
fortune”, the epic “Everything except the
world” (with a guest performance by FAF singer Hans
van Lint) and the opener “The road to Babylon”
(great Neo-Prog). I found their first 2 albums quite
good, but this new CD is even more impressive and shows
the talents of skilled musicians who had to wait 8 years
before releasing such a ‘gem’. I would say, if
you like melodic or progressive rock, then better buy
this CD a.s.a.p.! More info at: http://www.progwereld.org/timelock.htm
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
 FRONTLINE 'ALMOST UNRELEASED' (AOR
HEAVEN)
The official release of the new FRONTLINE CD will be on
the 24th of February, but I received a promo CD and I can
inform you that this will become one of the must-have
releases for the AOR fans! Although it’s not a real
new CD of the German band, the CD contains about 7
complete new and unreleased tracks, while the rest was
only released in Japan so far and not for the European
market. If there’s one band I would call AOR, then
it should be FRONTLINE, and maybe they are one of the
best European AOR bands ever. This upcoming release only
shows how good they are, because with 16 tracks, the
album is a deadringer for the pure AOR lovers.
All
the tracks are highlights of course, but to give you an
idea of my favourites, I must add “Man in
motion” (classy uptempo AOR a la SIGNAL), “Must
be dreaming” (uptempo AOR a la 80s NIGHT RANGER),
“No one like you” (SUPERB HIGH CLASS AOR, just
perfect, like SURVIVOR meets PREVIEW), “Everything
you do” (lovely midtempo AOR), “Broken
hearted” (uptempo AOR), “Without your
love” (pure 80s AOR), “I’ll be there for
you” (midtempo AOR) and the 2 wonderful Japanese
bonustracks of their debut ‘State of rock’,
“Falling” and “Alone”, which both are
released for the first time in Europe. This CD is
definitely a total must for all AOR fans, and although it
is not a real new album of the band, it can still be seen
as an album with a lot of unheard songs, especially for
the European audience...
(Points:
9.5 out of 10)
 COASTLAND RIDE 'COASTLAND RIDE'
(AOR HEAVEN)
Besides the FRONTLINE release, AOR HEAVEN is also
releasing the debut CD of the Swedish band COASTLAND
RIDE. This threesome is making a mix of Westcoast, AOR
and 80s Hi-Tech Pop, ending up sounding like a mix
between TOTO, MR. MISTER, LE ROUX and HALL&OATES. A
long time ago I reviewed one of their demos, but they now
are going to release an official CD next month and
it’s only a pity they put some Popsongs on their CD,
because now I can hardly call it a pure AOR CD. Besides,
also the running time is barely 35 minutes, and then with
only 4 real AOR songs time becomes an issue when deciding
to purchase the record or not. I must say that the 4 AOR
songs on the album are very good. These are “Let me
let you go” (classy 80s AOR a la LE ROUX, TOTO),
“On the path of greed” (another lovely AOR
song, like T’BELL), “Hearts to the flame”
(AOR with a lovely catchy chorus a la 1st URBAN TALE) and
the SUPERB uptempo AOR ‘Wet-dream’ song
“Eyes” which is close to SIGNAL or DRIVE SHE
SAID. Unfortunately, the band also offers a lot of
Westcoast/Pop which can be heard on the remaining 5
tracks, such as “Believe in me”,
“Sleepless” and the pure Popsongs “Never
the same” and “Second hand America” (like
HALL AND OATES meets CLIMIE FISHER!!!). Anyway, I hope a
future CD will see the band making more AOR songs like
“Eyes” and “Let me let you go”, with
some more guitar included, because now the album is 50%
AOR and 50% Westcoast/Pop. Now it’s up to you to
decide if this album is worth purchasing, because it
ain’t much, but it’s definitely quality music
you need to check out!
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
 INSANIA 'FANTASY (A NEW
DIMENSION)'
(NO FASHION RECORDS/SUBURBAN)
The band INSANIA was founded in 1992, and
‘Fantasy’ is their third album. The band hails
from Stockholm, Sweden and they play melodic Power Metal
in the style of SONATA ARCTICA, HELLOWEEN,
STRATOVARIUS… The new CD ‘Fantasy’ was
recorded at the famous Finnvox studios in Helsinki,
Finland, and without a doubt this is an awesome release
in the Power Metal scene. From start to finish
you’ll get fast melodic Power Metal of a very high
level. Most of the songs are fast, catchy and it’s
hard to pick out my favourites, as they are all pretty
much sensational. However, songs I definitely must
mention here are “Carry on”,
“Fantasy”, “Vengeance” and
“Reflections of mine”. This CD is a complete
must if you’re into typical melodic Power Metal in
the style of mentioned bands!
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
JACK
L. 'PASSPORT'
(PROMO CD)
The German band JACK L. sent me a promo CDR titled
‘Passport’, which contains 7 tracks. The
complete CD, with full artwork is available at: www.jack-l.com for 10 Euro. They
profil themselves as a Prog Rockband, but I would like to
discuss that topic a bit further, because among the 7
tracks included we can also find a pure catchy uptempo
melodic rocker “Mr. L”, which has absolutely
nothing to do with Prog Rock. Nevertheless, it’s the
best track of the CD, and reminding me of classic WHITE
LION and WILD FRONTIER. The other songs are indeed more
Prog Rock orientated, with as highlights “Turn
back” (good melodies), “Storm warning”
(Neo-Prog a la JADIS) and closing track
“Traveller” (great Neo-Prog rocker a la
EVERON). On some of the songs, such as opener “Your
false friend”, the band’s lead singer sounds
forced and really doesn’t come clean as a Prog
singer, but on closing track “Traveller” he
sounds better. However, I still find the singer not
really suitable for Prog Rock, he is in better shape
during uptempo melodic rockers such as “Mr. L”.
Anyway, check out this band at: http://www.jack-l.com
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
MOHODISCO
'KALOOMITH'
(INDEPENDENT)
MOHODISCO is an American band and on their CD
‘Kaloomith’ they are mixing Progressive Rock
with elements of Dance/Hi-tech music! The album contains
8 instrumental tracks and although it is nice to see a
band experimenting with different musicstyles, I hope in
the future they will focus more on the Progressive Rock,
because on songs like “Praxis” and “Our
paths are sonic waves” they definitely show they can
make good quality instrumental Prog Rock. However, some
of the other tracks are too much in the Disco-field to
impress Prog Rockfans. More info at: http://www.mohodisco.com
(Points:
-)
AFTER
ALL 'MERCURY
RISING' (MAUSOLEUM RECORDS)
From Belgium hails the Metalband AFTER ALL, and
‘Mercury rising’ is their 2nd effort. They have
built up quite a reputation during the years, as support
act for bands like SAXON, PARADISE LOST, TIAMAT and THE
GATHERING. The new CD of the band is very diverse, as it
contains a mixture of 80s Heavy/Speed-Metal, Bay-Area
Thrash, NWOBHM and even Doom-Metal! Vocally I am not that
enthusiastic about AFTER ALL, but technically and
songwise the band offers nicely performed Metal.
Highlights include “Beneath the flesh”,
“Rectify”, “The shadow wall” (very
melodic), “Twist of fate” (Doom a la
CANDLEMASS) and closing track “Black God white
devil”. It’s not a bad record, but also not
sensational if you compare it with the amount of other
Metal releases done at the moment. The CD also contains 2
cool videos by the way, but I would only recommend the CD
to people who like all kinds of Metal.
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
ACIDENTE 'TECHNOLOGY' (MUSEA
RECORDS)
The South-American band ACIDENTE exists since 1978 and
their latest album is called ‘Technology’. The
CD is filled with quality instrumental prog rock with a
short jump to melodic rock at “Gotta play!”.
The best songs are “Enough”,
“Factotum” and “Where whiskey comes
from”. If you want to check out a good deal of
instrumental progressive rock, then do check out this CD.
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
RECORDANDO
O VALE DAS MACAS '1977-1982' (MUSEA RECORDS)
This CD takes us back to the late 70s/early 80s, and is
basically a nice soft Prog album in the style of CAMEL,
70s GENESIS. It is nicely done and back then maybe
innovative, but today the day it sounds a bit dated.
Nevertheless, this Brazilian band is a must if
you’re still hooked on 70s Prog. The album will find
it’s way to the fans of the genre.
(Points:
7.0 out of 10)
RUNAWAY
TOTEM 'LEP
ZEPI' (MUSEA RECORDS)
I haven’t got any info on this band, but they hail
from Italy and are playing Prog Rock in the typical 70s
Italo style, yet with something totally different than
any other band in this genre, mainly the use of Tenor
vocals a la Andrea Bocelli and Pavarotti! This is
something completely new, and will probably be loved by
the people who are looking for a new approach to the prog
Rockscene. If you still would like to hear good old Prog
Rock, then the band has also a lot of instrumental prog
rock on their CD of a very high level, such as
“Pardes”, “Montsalvat” and part of
closing track “I 4 Signori”. However, the
interesting thing is still the use of that Tenor singer,
which is actually guitarist Cahal de Betel. Nicely done
after a couple of spins and therefore a good rating!
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
(All
reviews by Gabor Kleinbloesem, except where noted)
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